STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Consumer groups are urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to end the Time Warner Cable/CBS dispute over carriage fees that has led to a blackout of all CBS programming for cable subscribers since Aug. 2.

At the center of the issue is a disagreement over carriage fees: CBS
wants to raise them, and Time Warner Cable says the price they're asking
is too high.

But many say this dispute has gone on too long.

On Friday, acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn encouraged swift action to protect the consumers who are being affected by the CBS blackout.

Said Clyburn,"(We) ready to consider appropriate action if this dispute continues."

Meanwhile, the American Television Alliance (ATVA) --a coalition of consumer groups, cable, satellite, telephone
companies and independent programmers --
issued the following statement: "The FCC has sat on the sidelines for too long on this issue and consumers will continue to be harmed until the retransmission consent process matches up with today's video marketplace."

"The FCC needs to act now so these problems don't continue to plague consumers."

The intense dispute has played out as follows:

All CBS
programming -- including Showtime, TMC, FLIX, and Smithsonian -- on Time
Warner systems has been blacked out since Aug. 2.

CBS has pulled access to CBS.com from Time Warner Cable broadband subscribers -- that includes
customers who have a different television provider, such as satellite
TV.

The dispute between Time Warner Cable and CBS went before the New York
City Council Thursday morning, where executives from both companies were
questioned.

On Monday a Time Warner Cable proposal requested
that the fees remain as discussed during negotiations or be available
on an a la carte basis. CBS dismissed the proposal as nothing more than a publicity scam.

The action affects about 3 million Time Warner Cable television
customers nationwide, including about a million in the New York City
area.

Staten Island Time Warner Cable customers,
who pay for The Movie Channel or Showtime, will receive credit retroactive
to the first day of the blackout.